In Imagination I Die
by shadow243ali
Summary: Rose wakes up in a mental institution unsure of what has happened and when no one will listen to her stories of the Doctor she begins to wonder if he really was real at all? The Doctor has problems of his own when he wakes up with a headache...and a wife!
1. Chapter 1

In Imagination I Die

"So listen to me, the Doctor is real!" She said, her hands fluttering about the place in excitement. "He's really real!"

"Yeah of course he is..." She nodded her head. This one was a lost hope, always muttering 'Doctor this' and 'Doctor that'. Losing her mother had really made her lose her head.

"He is! I've met him! I've travelled with him!" she continued.

Lucy Burns sighed once again. "Yeah you've mentioned the blue box that's bigger on the inside."

"The Tardis."

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Take your pills, Rose."

"But I don't need them." she complained. It was the same routine everyday for the last month. She would come in with the pills and Rose would always talk about the Tardis and the Doctor and how she travelled with him and fought monsters from other planets. Poor soul, she just couldn't tell reality from her warped imagination.

She stood up, hand on her hip. Her eyebrows were raised in annoyance as she spoke. "Do I need to bring Mitch in again?"

Rose sighed and wondered how implausible she must have sounded but with Lucy as the only one who had ever came near her who else could she try to convince? The last time she refused to take the pills, they drugged her and forced her to take them. It was an experience she didn't want to repeat but someone had to believe her. Someone had to help her find the Doctor.

"Rose please take your pills," She said, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder as she placed the white tub of pills in her hand. "For me."

Rose looked warily at the pills and swallowed them reluctantly.

Lucy smiled. Another day without having to use the restraints or the drugs. Maybe there was some hope for Rose Tyler. "Thank you."

Rose rested her head against the pillow as the door slammed shut with a bang. The first few days she had jumped in surprise but eventually she got used to it. She wondered how long it would take for her to lose hope?

They said she had been here for three months after her mother had died. The last time she saw her mother was three weeks ago on their last visit to Earth. Two weeks and four days ago she had been ripped apart from the Doctor and been forced on a surgical table. She remembered seeing the look on his face. It was of pure and utter horror and neither of them could do anything. the last thing she saw before waking up here was the Doctor being put on a table of his very own. She had then woken up here and was given the label of 'maniac'. One of the crazy people in ward 3 of London's finest psychiatric hospital.

Rose closed her eyes, letting sleep wash over her as the effects of the tablet's did their job.

--

The Doctor winced. The pain in his head throbbed as the light poured in from a nearby window. He held his hand up in an attempt to shield his eyes from the blinding light. He turned away trying to remember what had happened, only to find he wasn't alone. Beside him on the bed was a sleeping figure of someone he had no recollection of ever knowing.She was sleeping peacefully as her brown hair covered her face.

The Doctor stared in horror and confusion at her. Who was she? How had he ended up in her bed? And more importantly, where was Rose?

He needed to get out of there. He carefully rose from the bed trying to minimize any amount of noise he made. He found he was almost naked, save for the black boxers he was wearing. Looking in the mirror he noted it was the same old face. Brown hair, brown eyes and cheeky grin. Although grinning was not as evident today as he searched for clothes thrown on the ground.

"John come back to bed..." he heard a voice mumble from behind him. He was frozen on the spot. What was he meant to do?

He heard the springs of the bed creak as she got up and he turned slowly. Words stayed on the tip of his tongue but he wasn't sure how to start. He never got to speak as she kissed him briefly on the lips. "Look John, I know things have been difficult lately but I want to give this marriage a chance. I know I made a mistake but we can get through this."

What had she just said? Marraige? He wasn't married, at least not anymore. He raised his hand and as clear as day a wedding band was on his finger. His eyes widened in shock. What the hell had happened to him?

He tried to form some words, "I - uh, well,"

She placed a finger on his lips. "I know you still love me, otherwise last night would have never have happened,"

What the hell happened last night? When he hell did he get married? The pain in his head increased with every attempted thought.

"I need to go." He managed to mumble, getting out of her grip.

She grabbed his arm. "I'm not letting you leave. I know you still love me John. We can make this work."

He wrenched out of her grip. He knew he needed to get out of there. This wasn't right. He had to find Rose. He had to find out what had happened. He looked at the woman straight in the eyes and said, "I don't know who you are. I don't what the hell happened or who you think I am but I am not your husband."

"John - "

"My name is not John and I don't know who you are. I'm going to leave now."

He gathered his clothes and ran out putting as many items on himself as he went. He heard her follow him, shouting, but he ran.

Ran as fast as he could to get to anywhere but here with only one goal in mind. He needed to find Rose.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for not updating sooner on this story but I have been adjusting it and working a lot on my 'Any Questions

**Sorry for not updating sooner on this story but I have been adjusting it and working a lot on my 'Any Questions?' story but here's the new chapter and I hope you enjoy. **

**--**

Rose tossed and turned in her sleep as dreams plagued her visions. Every night she went to sleep and soon afterwards she would wake up, forehead dampened with sweat, confused by a dream as it slipped away from her. She remembered needles, the glimpse of metal shine against the light and a face, grinning at her...mocking her.

Tonight was no difference. She stared wide eyed at the white wall in front of her, trying to even out her breathing. Had she been on the Tardis she would have gotten out of bed to find the Doctor but she couldn't because if she got out of bed then all she would find is the locked door of her prison.

This place is her prison and when the door is unlocked then she still be in a prison. The only thing different is the guards, eyeing her up warily, making sure she knows her place. That she can't leave because she would be a danger to society.

She remembered trying to make an escape the first few times but then Mitch came along and stuck a needle in her and she would wake up restrained to her bed.

If this life was real...if she was actually crazy then why was she here. Why would she have made up the Doctor? An alien saving people from the monsters in the dark, the lonely angel, the oncoming storm, the man with two hearts and a home that burned long ago in a cascade of fire and, more importantly, her Doctor - her best friend. He had to be real...didn't he?

He had to be real because if he was real then this wasn't and that meant that her mother was still alive, probably watching Eastenders and gossip with Tina the cleaner. Her mother couldn't be dead...

Rose bit back tears, refusing to let them fall, as she sunk her head back on the pillow. She brought the blanket, that lay twisted around her legs, back up to her chest. Clutching it like a small child, she drifted back to sleep as another bit of hope drifted away.

--

The Doctor reasoned that he was on Earth. His head still ached as if someone had dropped an anchor on his head at some point but he knew, from experience, that focusing on his pain would not help him find Rose. On the other hand, he needed to remember how he had got here but his headache was getting in the way to remembering those memories so he had to content himself with looking at surroundings.

Planet Earth a.k.a. Sol 3. London.

He had also figured out that if he walked approximately east for 55 minutes he would reach the Powell Estate. At least, that was what he hoped.

He also wondered why that woman thought he was her husband? It wasn't the mere fact she thought they were married that worried him but the fact she thought they had been married for a while and seemingly undergoing problems. Well, considering one of them was an alien who had no recollection of getting married to a human ever then that was a big enough problem in itself.

Sure, he had been married before when Gallifrey still existed but his home planet was long gone, thanks to him. And the second time he had been married was a pure and complete accident. He had always remembered from that day on that Jack giving you excessive amounts of alcohol while in Vegas was never a good idea. Technically he had became a bigamist in that night. How he ended up married to Rose (surprising), Jack (slightly horrifying) and Mickey the idiot (horrifically horrifying with a extra load of horror placed on top) he had always wondered as not all of his memories were clear. Thankfully none of them remembered the night before (too many hypervodkas provided by Jack) and he was the only one who had marriage certificates. They were all under fake names and how they had ended up glued on to his forehead he would never know. Thank Rassilion they had woken up in different rooms throughout the Tardis with all clothing in tact or it would have been difficult to explain what happened.

One thing surprised him, other than somehow ending up married to three people at once, was the fact that the streets were seemingly deserted at 11 in the morning as he walked (or to be precise, ran) out into a residential area. There was no flicker of curtains or no raised eyebrows from old ladies. There were no old ladies to raise their eyebrows at a semi-clothed man attempting to pull on his trousers while running away from a woman claiming to be his wife.

Once out of the street he had ran into people, who didn't acknowledge his presence, despite, his unruly and untidy state. He thought it strange behaviour, even for humans, but now tried to focus on how he had gotten here in the first place, now that his headache had seemingly disappeared.

--

Lucy groaned. She was on duty again. This job never gave her any free time. She couldn't even remember the last time she had been on a date. Hell, she couldn't even the last time she had been out of this hospital. They were short staffed and that meant that working hours had been increased. Most of them had ended up sleeping in spare rooms. The one good thing was she didn't have that many patients to look after. And today she wouldn't have to deal with most of them as it was psych evaluation day.

She looked around the near empty recreation room. And what a recreation room it was! A few couches, a practically broken down TV, a bookshelf with mostly unread books, a pinball machine and a table scattered with paper and crayons. If they were so forgotten then maybe they could get new equipment but they were. Forgotten.

Hopefully some of the patients would be declared sane this day and complain. Those who were to still be assessed were waiting in their rooms. The rest were in this run down room, including Rose Tyler.

She had hopes for Rose Tyler. Other than her outbursts about a man in a blue box who she travelled with to fight aliens...well, she had been pretty much sane. Save for those delusions. Luckily they were getting fewer each day and Lucy suspected that she might be let out soon. She would however miss her if she did go. she was one of the few people to have any kind of conversation with around here.

"Hello Rose, how are you today?"

"Fine." she muttered without looking up from her book.

"How did the assessment go?"

"Fine. I just love getting poked and prodded at. Let's not forget those helpful questions they ask you over and over again. It really made my day." Her sarcasm didn't go amiss. She had rarely been sarcastic before but once you start getting called crazy, Rose had decided it was a reasonable excuse to become sarcastic.

"You know it's not that bad." Lucy tried to say but as soon as the words left her mouth, Rose had interrupted.

"Isn't it?" Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise, "I'm in a place where I don't belong."

"You're not the only one. Do you think I wanted to end up working here?"

"Do you think I wanted to end up living here?"

"Touche, but I had so many dreams of what I wanted to be when I was younger but I ended up here. And it's not that bad once you get past the first few months. You get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it. I want to get out of here. I want to see the sky again. I want to..." She sighed, she had almost let slip that she wanted to se the Doctor again but she needed to act like the Doctor wasn't real. That was the only way they would think her sane.

"Look, I know it's hard but you're getting better. Rose, I've seen the change in you these last few weeks. You've almost stopped having delusions. You've barely mentioned anything about the Doctor or that blue box. Nothing about aliens either. I'm proud of you and I think you might actually get out soon."

Rose bit her lip as she stared at Lucy. She sighed as she returned to her book, muttering, "I hope so."

**Well, if you want to you can hit the nice review button at the bottom of the page. Now I have two ideas for this story. One involves a bit of mystery and could possibly cause confusion for a few chapters depending on how you interpret it. The other involves well, less mystery but it focuses on slightly darker circumstances on how they ended up where they are but still remains a good idea. **

**So basically the choice is mysterious but lighter route or dark but more clear cut route? Or should I just try to combine the two…I dunno. Well, give me feedback if you want to.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Very short chapter I know but I've been very busy with my 'Any Questions?' And 'It's the End of the World as we know it' fics so I apologize. Hopefully I will returtn to an even balacnce of updating through all my stories. You'll like the ending of this chapter though…**

--

The Powell estate gleamed, as far as the Doctor was concerned, as he walked towards the flat of Jackie Tyler. If Rose was anywhere in London then he would have came here. If she wasn't here then it still meant that Rose was missing and that he would get one hell of a smack of Jackie. He hoped she wouldn't come after him with the frying pan again.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and was greeted by the sight of…

Pete Tyler?

What was he doing here? He wasn't even meant to be alive…

It was at that moment that the Doctor noticed that he was being stared at rather strangely. It may have been the fact he had not said anything, or the fact he looked shocked or maybe it was the fact he was staring at a dead man. Either way he hadn't heard a word that had been said.

"Uh, sorry did you say something?" The Doctor tried his best to look nonchalant but he was finding it hard to figure out why Pete Tyler was alive and apparently, staring at him…once again.

The Doctor cured himelf in his head. He really needed to listen. "Does Rose Tyler happen to live here, by any chance?"

"And you would be?" He gave the Doctor a look up and down. It was clearly a look of silent judgement. Seeing if he was a threat. It was a look of fatherly protection and as much as he respected him for caring for Rose in such a way, he couldn't help but feel unnerved by it.

"Oh sorry, I didn't introduce myself, did I? I'm the Doctor." He stuck out his hand but Pete stared at it warily so the Doctor used it to scratch the back of his head.

"She's out. Should be back soon."

"Good good…uh," He glanced at the ground before continuing, "Do you know when he'll be back?"

"A few minutes. She popped out for some milk."

"Right…" The Doctor averted his gaze from the meant-to-be dead man and stared at his surroundings before finally resting on his shoes.

"You could come in and wait. I'm sure Jackie wouldn't mind."

The Doctor stumbled to find words whilst his mind went into overdrive. If Pete was alive then would Jackie remember him. Would Rose remember him? Was his even his world?

The Doctor paused. Is this a dream?

"What?" asked Pete and the Doctor looked up confusion evident on his face.

"What?"

"What are you on about a dream for?"

"Oh," Scratching the back of his head, willing an excuse to come to mind, "I never said dream. I said cream. I just am really in the mood for cream…in my tea."

"Right…"

Pete held the door open for him to enter and the Doctor went thorugh it hoping Jackie wouldn't slap him and hoping that Rose would remember who he was. He wasn't sure he could handle Rose not knowing who he was.

Rose looked around here once Lucy had left. A new detainee had arrived and was seemingly acting 'crazy' as they were being dragged in. From what she had heard (from eavesdropping), a family member was concerned for their welfare and got him to be taken here. She wasn't surprised at the way he was acting, who would scream as they were being forced in here?

She wondered if she had been life that. Rose cursed herself for the thought. She never screamed coming in here because it never happened. The Doctor was real, her mother was alive and she would get back. She just need to get out of here first.

It was at that point she heard the screaming. The cries of sanity made by the new guy, being ignored by the thugs who were probably carrying him. She wouldn't have been surprised if Mitch was coming with a big needle to shut him up.

She looked up as she saw the approaching footsteps. Two figures emerged dressed in white scrubs which she recognised as Frank and Stein. No joking matter. Together they were called FrankenStein. They were dragging a third figure whose face was downcast, his frame was skinny, his hair messy and brown and voice, at that moment, so painstakingly familiar.

He looked up, still shouting at the guys tightening their grip on him, and she gasped, staring into his brown eyes that were cast against his thin hollow face.

It was him. It was the Doctor.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Another short chapter but I really couldn't make this any longer. I really wanted to keep this as one chapter and you'll know why after reading it.**

**--**

The Doctor stared at ground having developed a keen interest in his shoes. He had watched and waited while Pete had gone to talk to Jackie. Raised voices and a slap later (he could hear them well enough now, even through a wall), and Jackie emerged carrying a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits.

"So how do you know my Rose?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Don't you remember me?"

"No, I can't that I do love."

"Are you sure? You gave me one hell of a slap once."

"Aren't you telling me?" commented Pete, having re-entered the room.

"Oh you can shut up!"

"I was only agreeing with the man." He held up his hands in defence and the Doctor couldn't help but feel sorry for man. He was married to Jackie Tyler…was that rude? Rose would probably be telling him to shut up if he said it aloud but he didn't because there was no one to tell him to shut up. That and he didn't want another slap from Jackie.

"Right so how long is Rose going to be?" He asked trying to steer the topic away from slaps.

It was strange, if he thought about it. He shouldn't be surprised that Jackie didn't know him but he was. Pete was alive; the man who he saw Rose rush over to in his dying moments after stopping a paradox which Rose created in the first place by just trying to save her dad. He was gob shocked at first but for some reason that initial surprise had disappeared and he didn't know why…

"Rose should only be –" The front door opened, and the Doctor couldn't help but feel his heartbeats increase. She was here, "Well, there she is now! Rose, you have a visitor."

He stood up in anticipation. He watched as she walked forward, a smile on her face, "Hello Rose…"

--

Rose stood; eyes wide open. It was the Doctor. She let out a breath she had not realised she had been holding. He was here...really here.

"Doctor!" She rushed forward towards the room he was being dragged into. The man looked up but gave no recognition to her. Maybe he did but Rose could not tell because the door was slammed so quickly she had not seen his reaction. She tried to open it, but to no avail. They had locked it, shutting her out from the only bit of hope she had left, "Doctor…"

Rose had concluded that she could not stand by the door. As much as she wanted to, it would be strange, even for someone being called crazy, to stand by the door of a new detainee's room. So Rose had decided to go back to her chair, keeping an eye on the door.

He picked up her book and pretended to read, all the while, her eye never wandering from the door. She would wait until Frank and Stein left the room, hopefully keeping the door unlocked as they went and she would get up and talk to the Doctor.

Hopefully he would remember her…but what if he didn't?

What if he was just some man? What if she was crazy and she was just going to annoy some new detainee thinking it was the Doctor?

No, the Doctor was real. It had to be him, didn't it?

Rose waited, minutes passing even more slowly than she could ever remember them moving. How long had it been? '5 minutes? More like 5 hours.' She thought to herself.

Rose could not help but grin with excitement as she watched the two burly figures leave the room. Her grin increased when she noticed they had left it unlocked. Things were going her way.

Her fingers lingered on the book for a moment as she laid them down. This was it.

She walked forward, sparing a glance for any orderlies about and found none looking in her direction. She opened the door and headed in unnoticed.

Shutting the door, she leaned against it, letting out a sigh of relief. He looked up and Rose whispered into the silent room, "Hello, Doctor…"

To be continued,

**AN: Yes I know but I really wanted to do that before I actually had them meet properly. For those reading, regular updates will resume from now on. And if you want to review then by all means do so and brighten my day.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Oh god...I can't believe i wrote this...you'll know what I'm on about after you read it. Oh, I can't belive I decided to do this. I don't know what has gotten in to me lately.**

Rose's eyes widened at the sight of him. That was a good sign, wasn't it? That meant she knew him, didn't it?

"Doctor…" she breathed out. She knew his name. This was brilliant. She knew him. This was just- "Mum, Dad, I need to speak to him alone so we're just gonna be outside."

She smiled, and he couldn't help but notice how it seemed to brighten up the room .She grabbed him by the hand, and he gave a quick wave to her parents before she dragged him out the door.

They went past the corner, where the shadows were more pronounced and he couldn't help but wonder why. She had not looked at him since leaving the flat and although he hand felt warm, it still felt less so. Almost as if-

"Doctor…" He snapped out of his thoughts, having realised she was speaking to him. At least he thought she was…at lest a moment ago.

She pulled him around another corner until he found himself in an empty alleyway with only her as company. In both directions, the only thing that could be seen was the brick wall that once you turned a corner would lead to another brick wall and another and another until you finally ended up at the edge of the block of flats she lived in.

He stared down at her, neither of them moving for a moment, as if waiting for the other to move first. Why had she brought him here?

He soon knew why when she brought her hands to his head and pulled him into searing kiss.

--

"Doctor…" She breathed out, and she saw him raise his head but what she saw in his eyes crushed any hopes she might have had only moments before.

Unfamiliarity – he was looking at her as if she was a stranger and it broke her heart in two but she still clung to hope. That tiny bit of hope that she wasn't crazy, "Doctor, do you know who I am?"

"No…"

His gaze moved to the window, and it seemed to take what little strength he had. Rose took a step closer, noticing a trickle of blood on his face, "Oh my god, what did they do to you?"

She knelt down, brought her hands to his face to examine the cut on his head, "Like you don't know…"

Rose's brow furrowed in confusion, "What? Why would I know?"

"You work for them, with them, whatever you want to call it."

Rose couldn't help but glance down at herself. What had made him wonder that? She looked nothing like anyone who worked here. Her clothes were the first things that probably gave her away, "No, I don't. I'm a patient. Well, I'm not crazy if that's what your thinking. They stuck me in here."

"Yeah me too…" He turned his head towards her, finally looking into her eyes, "So you don't work for them?"

"No…" She watched him wince, as he took a sharp breath, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"My ribs…"

"Come on, let me see," She gave him a soft smile, hoping to reassure him, "I might be able to help."

This man might not be the Doctor but he needed help and she knew a thing about injuries. A life with the Doctor had taught her about injuries and the best way to deal with them…unless it wasn't real. That life had never been real and she had created a world filled with the Doctor, the Tardis and monsters under the bed that only existed in her mind but then why did this man look like him?

Every single detail exact – the eyes, the face and the hair. That really great hair.

"So how bad does it look?" He asked, after unbuttoning his shirt.

Rose snapped out of her thoughts, and pressed down on ribs. He gasped in pain and she lifted her hand off slightly, lessening the amount of pressure she had just exerted. She traced the outline of a bruise forming, lightly with her finger, "What did they do to you?"

"Those two? The ones that brought me in?" Rose nodded, her gaze flicking over to another cut on the right side of his abdomen, "Just a little rough and tumble. I wouldn't comply with their demands."

Rose had remembered not complying with their demands but all she had ended up was being pricked with a needle and being awoke from a groggy sleep hours later. She didn't realise it could have been worse.

This wasn't fair. If this world were real, then wouldn't the government be trying to stop this from happening? How could they let people be treated like this?

"What's your name?" She heard him ask, and she averted her gaze to his own.

"Rose…"

"I'm John. John Smith."

But where was the Doctor? That was the only question Rose wanted answered at that moment because she wasn't sure if she could handle the possibility of him not ever existing.

"So will I live?" He asked giving a small smile even though she was sure he must be in pain.

"You've got a broken rib. You're definitely going to be bruised for a while. Look I know one of the orderlies, she might help."

She got up and turned, not expecting him to grab her wrist and say, "Can you just stay? Just for a little while."

"But you ribs…you're injured."

"It's not going to kill me if I wait ten minutes," He joked, "It's just…"

His voice trailed away but Rose knew what he was going to say. She understood so clearly because it was all too familiar to her, "You don't want to be on your own…"

"Yeah…" He looked downward, slightly shameful of his admission and Rose's heart went out to him. He looked so alone and even if he weren't the person she wished he were, she would help him. Even if it meant getting him help the needed in a couple of minutes time rather than straight away.

She sat down beside him and took his hand, "Ok, I'll stay but only for five minutes and then I'm getting you the help you need."

He nodded, and Rose realised this was the first time she hadn't felt alone in such a long time.

To be continued...

**AN: Yep, I had Rose kiss the Doctor but is it Rose? Is John Smith the Doctor in human form? I dunno, well...I do actually but that's not the point. Can you figure out what's going on?**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: All shall begin to be explained from this chapter on. Well, kind of. Thanks for all who have reviewed so far. i hope you enjoy this chapter. :D**

**--**

He had been surprised at first. Actually he had been stunned. Completely and utterly blown away by what was happening. Rose was kissing him. Really kissing him…and it felt good.

He had occasionally wondered what it would be like to kiss her. It was usually when he had time to think and nothing to do while Rose slept. It was a random thought that came into his head. Just like when he thought if marmalade would taste good on pizza. There was no initial thought. It had just randomly popped into his head and when he did think of those times when he wondered what it would be like to kiss Rose he had never expected it to end up like this.

He felt himself be pushed against the wall. The hand that had been clutching the fabric of his coat was moving dangerously lower. He knew in that moment, no matter how good the kiss felt, that it had to stop now.

He placed both hands at her shoulders and gently pushed her back. She looked up at him, confused by his actions, "What is it? What's wrong?"

He gulped, trying to rid the taste of her strawberry lip gloss from his mouth, "Well…"

He didn't know what to say or where to start. Should he ask her about why her father who was dead was alive? Why her mother didn't know who he was? Or should he just skip ahead to the fact he had no idea why she was kissing him.

Maybe this wasn't his Rose. That would make the most sense. She wouldn't kiss him, would she? Did she even want to kiss him? She didn't remember that kiss Cassandra had given him when she was in Rose's body. Maybe she wanted him to kiss her, but he couldn't kiss her. He was a Time Lord and she was human. A brilliant human but a human nonetheless. Wait, where was he? Why was he thinking about Rose wanting to kiss him or not? She had just kissed him.

"Rose, why did you just kiss me?"

She looked at him, surprised, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because we don't kiss each other."

"Oh, we've done a lot more than kissing these last few weeks. Look I may be one of your patients and you may be still technically married and all, but John I think I'm allowed to kiss my boyfriend. So did you give her the divorce papers yet?"

"Wait, what?" How had he ended up being her boyfriend? Where was his Rose? Was he cheating on his wife? Wait…was that woman really his wife? And…"Uh, what did you just call me?"

Rose bit her lip, "John. That is your name after all. Doctor John Smith."

He leaned against the wall. What had happened? Where was he? What had happened to his Rose and the Tardis? He couldn't remember. Everytime he tried to think about it, the headache he had had earlier magically returned as if forcing himself not to remember. He closed his eyes, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

Wait that wasn't right - Heartbeat? He was meant to have two. Two hearts beating out separate heartbeats. He raised his hands to his chest and found only the thump of one. That couldn't be right. Something must be wrong. What had happened to his second heart?

--

Rose closed her eyes, letting her head lightly rest against the pillow. She had just woken up, earlier than usual. She couldn't go out of her room yet. Patients weren't allowed to. Not this early. She was itching to get out and see John.

She smiled, her first glimmer of hope coming back to her. She hadn't felt hope in such a long time. John Smith was something that gave her hope and maybe, just maybe he could lead her to the Doctor.

Her Doctor. The proper Doctor.

Lucy had taken John to get patched up, ignoring her when she said it was caused by the two goons who had taken him to his room. Despite her annoyance, she knew Lucy didn't want to admit that there was something wrong with the place she worked at. It was better to ignore it as far as any worker here was concerned.

Rose had sat worrying in her room for hours until Lucy came in later telling her that John was fine. She had been right about his broken rib, but he was going to be fine. Rose finally had a proper nights sleep that night and had woken up early and refreshed, filled with newfound hope.

As soon as the door to her had been unlocked, she had shot up and headed straight for John's room. She found it empty; undisturbed and obviously unslept in.

Maybe he had slept in the infirmary. That was probably it. Nothing to worry about. She would ask Lucy as soon as she saw her.

She hadn't been able to eat. The food was tasteless anyway. It always was. All she had ended up doing was playing with her food, moving it from one side of her plate to the other, using her fork. Rose could not rid herself of the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach worried her. It overtook any hunger she might have felt and pushed it to the back of her mind.

Something was wrong.

She knew it from the moment she saw Lucy walk in, her demeanour sunken, her eyes downcast, avoiding Rose's gaze.

Lucy took a seat infront of her and Rose felt the fear rise in her stomach, "What's wrong? Is it John?"

"Rose, I'm sorry, but he's dead."

"What?" She rose from her seat, anger enveloping her, "How can he be dead? You said he was fine. You told me so. Last night, you said he was fine. He was fine. It was just a broken rib. He was…" Her voice trailed away, tears slowly filling her eyes.

"He had internal bleeding. We didn't realise. He passed out and by the time we got him to the hospital he died."

"But…" She felt her legs go numb and she gripped the desk for support, "He looked so like the Doctor. He was my last bit of hope. He can't be dead…"

"Rose, calm down."

"No I will not calm down!" Rose said, anger rising through her. He was dead and it was their fault. He had been fine when he was brought in, but those thugs beat him up and ended up killing him.

Lucy turned, motioned for the orderlies to sedate her. She knew that motion many times. She wouldn't let them do it to her again. She needed to get out of here before they ended up killing her too.

She backed away until she felt her back hit the wall. She glanced around, seeing nothing to defend herself with and seeing no other option, she took off running, with only one thought in mind.

She needed to get out of here.

It didn't take long for them to catch her. It was almost as if they had anticipated her movements. She had only managed to take a few steps before she felt rough hands grab her torso, dragging her back.

She kicked, to no avail and soon felt the familiar prick of a needle enter her skin, but she didn't feel tired. Her adrenaline was pumping. She kicked again, fighting with all her might but the second needle brought her down.

Lucy stood over her, a condescending smile on her face. Her head tilted, "And you were doing so well…"

Rose felt the sensation of falling take over her as she plunged into darkness.

--

"What do you mean it's awake?"

She heard a voice from above say. The anger was clear in his voice, just as much as the surprise. It scared her. She didn't know why, but it did nonetheless. Her breath became uneven, when she realised she couldn't open her eyes.

"The female humanoid is awake." A robotic voice said calmly. She would've gasped if she had been able to. Was he referring to her? The voice continued, "High levels of-"

"I don't care!" The voice – it wasn't a robot like the other one she realised – interrupted, "Put it back to sleep. We need it asleep. What about the other one? Is it awake?"

The other one…what or who was the other one? And why was that man or whatever it was calling her 'it'. She wasn't an object. She was a human being and what did it need her for?

"The male is not awake."

Male…it couldn't be. Was it the Doctor? Where were they? What had happened? Why wasn't he awake?

"Good! Now put the other one back to sleep."

"What if it wakes up again?"

"Then put her in another simulation. She won't wake up from another one."

Rose felt something press into her arm. Her thoughts of the Doctor slipped away as her mind fell into sleep once more.

To be continued…

**AN: Any idea what the new simulation will be? Why does the Doctor only have one heart? Is he really John Smith? Will I stop asking questions that I already know the answer to? Probably not...but review if you liked it. :D **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Short chapter, but it's just focusing on the Doctor and I've been a bit a busy so I'm posting this part seperate before I go back to Rose.**

**--**

"No, no, no, no, no and whole lot more no's bundled on top. This isn't right. This can't be right. Actually this can't be real…you're not real. Well, you are real, but you're not you and this is only a figment of my imagination. Although why I would have a wife and make you a mistress, I'm not really sure where that came from…"

He paused in thought, ignoring the stares of the confused and dumbstruck blonde. Why would he create himself a wife? It didn't make sense. He didn't want a wife, not after the last time. That had only ended in tears.

Nor would he ever make Rose his mistress…although there was that weird dream he had the other day. It was strangely similar to this. Once he thought about it. It was extremely similar to this. He had written it off to that weird cheese he had ate before going to sleep. That stuff always gave him weird dreams.

And he had probably made Rose's dad alive because she had been telling him what she thought her dad would've been like if he had remained alive. She had been feeling nostalgic and thye had ended up talking about their trip to her Dad's death. Then she had went to bed because she was tired and he had went to the kitchen and ate the cheese. Was this the cheese fault?

He shook of that thought, almost laughing at the fact he had thought of it in the first place.

No, it was more likely something else, causing his dreams to manifest into reality. Or was reality manifesting with his dreams, merging them and creating this? Or was it some other sinister force?

"Look John, are you feeling alright?"

He looked at her strangely for a moment, before scoffing, "No. Of course I'm not alright. Something is wrong. Something is definitely wrong. In fact something alien has possibly tapped into my subconscious and is using it to create this reality which couldn't possibly be real so what I'm wondering is if this isn't real, then how do I get out of it and back into my reality?" He paused, "My heartbeat has increased. I meant to have two hearts but for some reason I have one and…and…and what's that noise?"

He closed his eyes, listening. Was that beeping? He listened harder…

_Beepbeep…beepbeep…beepbeep…beepbeep…_

The Doctor smiled. This was brilliant. He could hear the sound of two hearts beeping from most likely a heart monitor. His heartbeat…not the one they had given him in this reality-no, fantasy. It was his one, telling him that this was imagination. This wasn't real.

"Can you hear that?" He asked, looking at the confused Rose who wasn't actually his Rose.

"Hear what?" Her face scrunched in confusion.

"Take that as a no then." He turned away, beginning to pace.

How could he get out of here? If this was a fantasy that was trying to convince him was reality then he would have to end the fantasy to get back to reality, but how did he end the fantasy if he had no idea how and if there was a proper reality to get back to…

The Doctor rubbed his temples. This was beginning to make his head hurt.

To end the fantasy, he would have to do something that would ruin the reality it was trying to make him believe in…he had to do the unthinkable…no, he couldn't, could he? It was the only way though…

He turned back to face Rose and grabbed her by the head, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. He grinned as he pulled back.

"What was that for?" she breathed out.

"Oh, to give me courage to do what I'm about to do."

He shrugged off a sudden thought, pulling her in for a kiss again and not letting go until he was oxygen deprived.

Rose stood shocked, "And that?"

He grinned, "That Rose Tyler is curiosity!"

He suddenly burst off running, with one thought in his head.

_Curiosity killed the cat._

To be continued...

**AN: Review if you enjoyed :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: New day, new chapter and only 2 days to my birthday. Yep I'm slightly happier now even though everytime I write or type it hurts because I've got a bruise on my hand, but will that stop me writing? The answer you're looking for is...yes, just joking. I mean no. Pain can't even stop me from writing.**

**--**

Rose slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breathe. Feeling her eyes plagued by grogginess, she promptly closed them again willing her mind to go back to sleep. It was too early. that was her conclusion. It was way too early to get up and face the world, but the world wanted her up, apparently, and Rose found herself faced with no other choice but to open her eyes when she heard the light snoring beside her.

She turned her head slowly, more because of the fact her head was killing her rather than the fear of who was beside her. She wasn't the kind of person who invited strange people into her bed and it would most likely be the Doctor if they were in the Tardis. Who else could it be?

It wasn't and she definitely wasn't on the Tardis.

Instead of finding the Doctor, Rose was faced with the familiar form of Mickey Smith. Although she felt a 2wave of relief that it was only Mickey, she couldn't help but ignore the nagging feeling in her stomach that was screaming out for her to go and find the Doctor.

Something was wrong.

The only problem was she didn't know what.

--

The Doctor ran, expecting the familiar rush of adrenaline pump through him as he ran, but he found nothing. Even the wind breezing past him felt dampened. The sun in the sky seemed to generate less heat than usual, but these were good factors.

At least when it came for what he had in mind.

In normal circumstances he might have called himself an idiot for what was prompting him to rush forward, but this world couldn't be real. It didn't even feel real, not completely.

He couldn't be human. He couldn't have one heart and he definitely wouldn't have a wife. Him? Married? There was more chance of a Rapsaptikulus invading the Earth...actually there probably would be more chance when he was around. He had that effect.

If this was imaginary then he had to disrupt the imagination. He needed to give it such a shock that the perception of reality sprang into focus because the mind wouldn't be able to cope with the new factors his mind would be creating. It wouldn't make sense.

Now there was only one way to shock his system and seeing as Rose kissing him didn't do that then this left option left.

A stupid option. A very stupid option but he firmly believed that this world wasn't real and if it wasn't then he wouldn't be doing himself harm.

At least he hoped.

--

Rose stifled a yawn as her feet fell against the soft fluffy carpet. She wiggled her toes, relishing in the feeling of the soft fabric in between her toes.

She got up, careful not to awaken Mickey. She needed to find out where she was because this looked nothing like Mickey's flat. At least the bedroom looked like it didn't belong in Mickey's flat. It was bright and airy. The sunlight poured in bouncing off the cream walls giving the room a warm feel.

The furnishings were the basics: bed, wardrobe, dresser, mirror, bedside table, lamp and an alarm clock. There wasn't even a computer and that in itself was a sure sign that this was definitely not Mickey's flat.

But if that was the case, then where exactly was she?

She walked over to the door, preparing to find out. The handle felt hard in her hand and suddenly a voice in her head was screaming for her to open it.

So she did.

She subconsciously rose a hand to her mouth in shock at the sight before, letting out a surprised and breathless, "Oh. My. God."

Something was definitely wrong.

--

The Doctor stopped abruptly, suddenly feeling unsure of himself. Did he really want to do this? Did he really want to risk everything on a theory?

He looked around him, unable to feel the Earth moving beneath his feet and the sound of his double hearts beating out a playful samba. He suddenly felt a feeling of loss and knew at that moment what the right thing to do was.

He took a deep breath, his head moving to look up the street at the sight of an oncoming truck before he turned his head back.

60 seconds...he had 60 seconds before the truck would head to the spot where he needed it to be. He closed his eyes, as thoughts and images whizzed through his head.

Rose...sweet Rose. Hopefully this would end up being alright otherwise Jackie would give him one hell of a slap for wherever he had caused them to end up. His mind still refused him to think back, blocking him from his thoughts before waking up in a strange bed, He couldn't help but wonder where the real Rose was?

She would be fine, wouldn't she? She had to be safe. She was in her own mind, most likely. It wasn't as if she could wrong in her own mind. Although he had ended up as a human and that was bad enough.

But what if she was some place worse than this? What if she was being hurt? Tortured? Injured? What if she was wanting him to help her? She didn't always need saving, but what if this one time she needed him. He couldn't let anything happen to her.

His eyes shot open, feeling his heartbeat increase rapidly. The rush of adrenaline was getting to him, fear was bubbling within him but he had to do this.

He glanced over at the oncoming truck. It was so close now. He felt his legs moving on their own accord towards the mass of metal, stopping directly in front of it.

He heard the squelch of brakes knowing that they would not stop. He snapped shut his eyes as the mass of metal collided against him, less painful than he had imagined, with only one thought in mind.

_I'm coming Rose..._

To be continued...

**AN: I loved writing that cliffhanger. I hadn't slept for 36 hours when I wrote that. Yes I am a strange person, but look what my sleep deproved mind has created. (actually I don't want to look over it again in case I change my mind and decide to change it so all mistakes are mine.) Review if you enjoyed... :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Here I am again with another chapter after that slightly shocking cliffhanger I left you on (Was it shocking? Maybe that's just my hopeful imagination, but that did count as a cliffhanger.) Now to get on with the story because seriously who wants to listen to me ramble on...yep, that imaginary slience I'm picturing means no one. lol...forgive me, I'm in a random mood today. Lol.**

**--**

"We have a code 16 sir." The android said, it's tone lacking the urgency a person in that situation would provide.

"How is that possible?" barked a voice in reply.

"The male has been showing increased levels of adrenaline over the past hour."

"But will he waking up?" A slight hint of fear ran through the voice as it increased in pitch.

"It is not possible to assess."

"What use are you then!" The android stared back. uncaring to the comment, unable to process the insult it had just been given, "Make sure he doesn't wake up! If he wakes up then you will be crushed. Do you hear me you piece of junk?"

"My hearing is unaffected, sir."

"Do something! Make sure the Doctor does not wake up!"

"Will I initiate protocol 24-B?"

The robot stared at it's owner in front of him as he slowly nodded his head, "Yes...that should work, but if it doesn't then you know what to do."

"Yes sir."

"Good." He said, staring down at the man known as the Doctor and felt a smirk spread across his face, "Good..."

_--_

The first sound that filled his ears was the slow and constant beeping of a heart monitor. The second was the hazy white ceiling that was slowly entering his vision, becoming more defined with every blink into consciousness.

He coughed, his throat dry and hoarse. Suddenly he felt someone grip his hand and a face enter his vision. A face that seemed vaguely familiar but for the most part she was still a stranger to him.

"Oh my god, you're awake." the woman exclaimed, "Everything's is going to be alright. You're safe now. I'm going to go get a Doctor. I'll be back right away, John."

The woman kissed his forehead and he suddenly realised he was in pain. It was almost as if someone had flicked a switch and the pain had magically appeared.

He groaned as he attempted to sit up. This wasn't right. He wasn't meant to be here. He was meant to be...

Where was he meant to be? There was something to do. Something important...someone was waiting for him. No, that wasn't right. He needed to get to someone. Someone important to him...

He pinched the bridge of his nose as another headache hit him. Slowly opening his eyes he took in his surroundings. What had happened? How had he ended up here?

He pulled back the covers, and swung his legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the pain that seemed to be radiating through him. He attempted to stand, but within seconds felt himself crashing down on the bed as a wave of dizziness hit him.

He took a deep breath and tried again, finding his legs more co-operative this time. He stumbled as he made his way to the door and grabbed to wall for support. He leaned against it as he popped his head out, looking out for any approaching figures including his 'so-called wife', but instead of that. sitting on an uncomfortable chair beside his room was Rose Tyler.

He smiled. Even if it wasn't real, she was concerned about him.

"Rose!" He whispered, getting no response. He sighed, rolling his eyes before he repeated only slightly louder, "ROSE!"

She awoke with a start and turned her head towards him, "Oh my god! John, you're alright!" She jumped up from her seat, wrapping her arms around him. He shouted out in pain and she immediately withdrew from the hug, "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. You should be resting anyway. Here, let's get you back to your bed."

"No!" he said, stilling her arms that were in the process of reaching around him, "Rose, do you trust me?"

She looked at him, curiosity in her eyes before she quickly replied, "Yes! Of course I do!"

"Ok then I need you to help me get out of here!"

"But you're hurt. You need to-"

"Get out of here!" he interrupted, "Please Rose. I need to get out fo here. Will you help me?"

He looked at her, knowing his eyes were practically begging her to help him. Everything seemed to move at a slower pace as he waited for her answer. He felt a rush of relief as she slowly nodded her head, whispering, "Ok. I'll help you..."

He beamed at her, "Ok then. Allonsy!"

--

"This isn't a good idea!" she whispered harshly in his ear, "I mean if we get caught then...oh, I don't know but I shouldn't be helping you break out of a hospital. You got hit by a truck! you should be in bed."

"How is this possibly a bad idea? No one is going to notice me dressed like this."

"Who would! You look like hobo!"

"Oi!" he cried indigently, "I do not!"

"You do!"

"Don't! And anyway I was going for the 'old elderly sick eccentric man whose in hospital because they were feeling gassy and hasn't got anything better to do than terrorize nurses' look!"

"That's a mouthful." muttered Rose, "and you've got the eccentric part down for sure. Then again that was always part of your personality, wasn't it?"

"Oi!"

"You know it's true." She looked up before immediately darting her head back down and whispering forcefully, "Hide your face! That's your doctor!"

The Doctor sank lower in his chair, hoping his newly found grey wig was helping hide his really great hair. Oh, his hair! What if the wig made it go all messy? He wanted to look cool with his thick hair. He didn't want to look like it a tornado had hit it...that would be a disaster.

He watched the footsteps of John Smith's doctor walk by, but he wasn't John Smith and if only his brain could figure that out then maybe his mind would be able to get out the fantasy he was trapped in.

He heard Rose breath a sigh of relief behind him before leaning down to whisper in his ear, "That was close!"

"So how did you find out what happened?" He asked, changing the conversation.

"What? Oh I..." She trailed off, and he couldn't help but wonder why?

"Well, how did you find out?"

"I...I can't remem- Oh wait, I followed you because you were acting weird and I saw you crossing the street and the truck was coming and when it hit you, I just ran over to you and called an ambulance."

The Doctor listened to her. The moment it took her to remember, the lack of emotion in her voice...it was almost as if that small pause was not just her composing herself or recalling the memory, but time for the memory to be created, for a logical explaination to be made.

"And how did you feel?" he asked, wondering how she would react.

"Well, I was scared. Thought you were gonna die."

"Oh, not me. Never me." He reverted back to his playful self, "Born survivor, I am."

"Don't I just know it?"

They neared the exit when they saw the guards at the door whispering to each other, "One of the patients has escaped...brown hair, mid thirties...oh I don't think he's going to get far...be on the lookout for a blonde girl..."

"Rose turn left. Keep your head down, act...like nothing's going on."

She moved the wheelchair, walking slowly past the guards who took no notice of her seeing as they were busy talking to each other.

The Doctor glance up briefly as the made their way past the guards and into a empty hallway. He stood up, donning his disguise after Rose brought the wheelchair to a stop.

"Right, how are we gonna get past them?" He shrugged, "Oh great help you are."

He looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and quickly grabbed Rose's hand pulling her into the nearest room. She opened her mouth to say something but he quickly clamped his hand over her mouth as the footsteps got closer.

He listened, waiting for them to pass and breathed a sigh of relief when they slowly disappeared. He brought his hand down from Rose's mouth after she muffled something at him.

"What?" he asked.

"We're in the men's room!" she told him.

"Yeah...so?"

"I'm in the men's room." She repeated slowly to him, waving her hand at their surroundings.

"Yes..." He nodded, wondering why she seemed so bothered about where they were, "I did notice that. In fact, so am I. Here we are. Both of us. You and me. Me and you, in the men's room. Together."

"I'm a girl in the men's room." She said trying to make herself clearer.

Oh...that was what she was on about.

"Well, as long as you don't try to use the urinal, I don't think anyone's gonna mind."

She opened her mouth to reply when the door to the men's room opened, causing them both to turn in surprise.

"Oh..."

--

Rose stared at the sight before her. How could this be possible? How was she even standing here? Something had to be wrong...yes, that was it. Something was wrong.

Definitely wrong.

She took a light step in, letting her eyes trail over the furnishing, bringing in every detail, expecting them to disappear if she dared looked away.

She rubbed her eyes, knowing it would do nothing to change the sight before her anytime soon but this couldn't be real? This was impossible...it had to be, didn't it?

No, it definitely had to be impossible, but how had she ended up here? Where was the Doctor? Where was the Tardis?

She closed her eyes, trying to think back. It was almost as if there was a wall, a giant wall stopping her from getting to where she wanted to be in her mind. She could remember something about the Tardis...somethign had happened...the Doctor was reaching out to her, trying to grab at her hand and the sensation of falling suddenly overtook her.

Her eyes shot open as her hands reached out searching for support as her knees buckled slightly. She grabbed at the wall, letting herself be pulled upright before she leaned against it, her breath laboured and strained as if she had just been running a mile.

What had just happened?

She let her head fall back lightly against the smooth hard wall as she closed her eyes once more. She remembered fear encasing her, the feeling of being trapped in a prison and there was someone she had tried to help...it was the Doctor, no it wasn't. It was someone else with the same face, but she had failed. He had died and then...then there was the woman...the woman with brown hair...the one she called Lucy...and she had done something or said something and...

What had happened next?

She opened her eyes and gasped in surprise, "You..." she breathed out, "Oh my god, it's you..."

"Hello Rose..."

To be continued...

**AN: Now, who do you think entered the men's room? Who do you think the 'You!' Rose was referring to was? Well, I could tell you, but then I'd give away my next chapter and that wouldn't be fun. You can speculate though...review if you enjoyed... :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I'm not sure exactly how many chapters there'll be until we reach the end, but I don't think it'll be that many. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, story alerted...etc. etc. so far. Now, on with the story...it's an extra long chapter today seeing as I was in the mood to write a longer chapter than usual.**

**--**

The faint buzzing in her mind is hurting her head. Her vision blurred as she tried to focus on the person she once thought she had trusted. She blinked, letting it clear and forcing the room back into what it once was.

"Who are you?" ordered Rose.

The girl in front of her smiled, her head tilting sideways in a similar fashion to the last time Rose seen her. This time it was no less unnerving, "It's me Rose. It's Lucy."

"No, no you're not. You're not real. This isn't real." Rose shook her head, rubbing her temples as a headache hit her, "Where's the Doctor?"

"Are you feeling ill?" replied Lucy with a smile, "Why would need a Doctor?"

"Stop it! Where is he?"

She narrowed her eyes, "There's no Doctor here."

"He has to be somewhere. This isn't real. It can't be."

"Of course it's real."

"No it's not. I woke up in a psychiatric hospital. I spent weeks there or what I thought was weeks and you were there." Lucy's smile faltered, "And the moment I dreamt or imagined or something up the Doctor or someone who looked like him, then it all started to fall apart…and I woke up here. And this can't be real so tell me, where am I?"

"You're home Rose." She replied, waving her arm around the room, "This is your home."

"No, this isn't my home. It never was. This was a dream home that I created in my mind when I was young and naïve…when I hadn't met the Doctor…" She trailed away in realisation, her eyes widening, "Wait a second, I had a dream about this the other day. And I was watching that film about someone in an asylum. This is taking things I've watched or dreamt recently and creating a world around it…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're not real…" Realization dawned on her, a possibility entering her mind causing her to gasp in surprise, "Or maybe you are. Maybe you work for whoever did this to the Doctor and me…where is he? Where's the Doctor?"

"I don't know what you're on about." Lucy took a few steps towards her and Rose stepped backwards until she felt the hard wall against her back. The solidity of the wall was a welcome relief, but it now meant she had nowhere else to go as the woman before her advanced until their faces were inches apart, "Maybe you should go and lay down Rose. You're not making sense." Lucy leaned in closer, her voice a quiet yet harsh whisper, "Go to sleep."

Rose suddenly felt a wave of tiredness wash over her as the order was given. This wasn't right. She needed to stay awake. She was finally getting somewhere and they were trying to make her forget. She wouldn't let them take this from her – couldn't – but found instead that her eyelid felt like they were lined in lead and whoever was doing this to her, was a lot stronger than she was.

Rose felt herself slump against the wall behind her. She closed her heavy eyelids that were weighing down on her. Realising there was nothing she could do, she let herself sink into a world of blackness, hoping that when she awoke that some part of her remembered the mystery she had only just delved into. She had only touched the surface – barely grazed it in fact - and they didn't want her figuring it all out.

With her last ounce of depleting strength, she whispered a mantra in her mind, "Remember…remember…remember…"

She opened her eyes, "Remember!"

And it all went dark.

--

The door to the men's restroom opened before they had a chance to realise. They turned their heads collectively towards it before they sparing a glance at each other.

"Oh…" whispered Rose before giving a nervous smile.

The man at the door raised an eyebrow, his mouth opening in surprise. He leaned back to look at the sign on the door, "Huh?"

Rose grabbed the cuff of the Doctor's arm and began dragging him out of the men's room. She gave a quick glance to the stranger who had just entered, "Sorry," she patted the Doctor on the chest, "He just can't keep his hands off me. Insatiable," She nudged the Doctor in the chest, "This one is."

The man grinned and nodded appreciatively at the Doctor who was unsure of what was actually going on and decided to just nod in response as he let Rose drag him out.

The door swung shut behind him and he turned to her, rubbing his sore chest, "What was that for?" Rose gave him a blank stare, "You didn't have to nudge me. You know, you poke very hard."

Rose rolled her eyes before placing her hands on her hips, "So how are we gonna get out of here?"

The Doctor took in a deep breath, letting it out through his teeth, "Well…let's just go this way for now."

He had walked a few feet ahead when he heard her ask quietly behind him, "Why?"

The Doctor turned on his heel, frowning – unsure of what she was actually asking him, "What?"

"Why are you doing this? Why are you so determined to get out of hospital?" She walked forward, her hand reaching out to clasp his own, "John-"

"I am not John Smith." Interrupted the Doctor. His gaze was serious, but she regarded him under her own unsure gaze, diminishing his claims with the mere roll of here eyes.

"Fine, Doctor, you just got knocked down. You should stay here in hospital. Let yourself get better. I know it'll be awkward with me here and your wife…"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and she frowned, her sentence trailing away as she gazed into his eyes, "I am not John Smith. I do not have a wife. This isn't real. You aren't real. I'm sorry, but you're not. Now the real Rose Tyler is out in the real world and she needs my help…probably, I mean that is if she hasn't wandered off again. I always tell her not to wander off but she goes ahead and does it anyway…I know this is hard for you to understand. Whatever has created this world has created your personality and it is so much like Rose at times but you aren't her and I'm sorry. Now I need to get out of her whether you believe me or not."

"I'm real." She stated, matter-of-factly.

The Doctor shook his head sadly, releasing his grip from her shoulders, and sighed, "I'm so sorry but you're not. The real Rose Tyler's dad died when she was a little girl. She was only six months old when she lost her father, do you remember? I want you to remember. I'm sorry."

He placed his hands on her temples, hoping she would forgive him for this. It was the only way. He watched with a sorrow and guilt in his heart as he watched Rose's face scrunched in confusion, as he forced her to think back, "No, he's alive. He's…"

She paused, as images hit her. A car heading straight for her father who was standing there unmoving, shocked, dumbfounded as it came hurtling towards him, someone running out pushing him out of the way, wait, she was pushing him out of the way and the sudden feeling rose within her. The feeling of disappointment and anger meshing with that little bit of understanding, but that small emotion that was overpowered by the more predominant feelings. Another stupid human messing with history, an ordinary man saved to live another day when he was destined for death…

"Oh god…" she breathed out, her eyes watering with tears as more images invaded her mind. These were not her feelings; these were not her memories. An argument…walking to find an empty Tardis (What was a Tardis? So familiar yet not part of her life; she didn't have a Life…she never did.) A reaper rushing to kill her, but it wasn't her. Not really. A plan forming, a glowing key, a paradox…dying…living…watching her father self sacrifice himself…walking hand in hand, returning to the life they were meant to live.

Where had these images come from? They were not her own, that was obvious. How could they possible be her own memories? She had no recollection of them and even if she did, it didn't make sense why she was remembering feeling that were directed towards herself…no, these were his memories – his real ones, his real life…

He wasn't John Smith and she wasn't Rose Tyler. She wasn't real and the man she thought she loved wasn't real either. It was all a lie. It was all made up…it was a story.

"I'm not real, am I?" she breathed out, her gaze turning to meet his brown orbs. A sad smile flittered on his face as he shook his head. She brought her hand up to her mouth and let out a sob, "I'm not real…oh god, I'm not real."

He gently removed his fingers from her temples and softly replied, "I'm sorry."

And he meant it; he really really did because even though he wasn't real. Even though she wasn't the real Rose Tyler - his Rose Tyler – she was still capable of emotion and realising that you aren't real had to be one of the most painful things possible to be part of. Her life was falling apart. She had memories of living a life, of having a family and his mind had created it and he had to destroy it and he was truly sorry for that simple fact.

This was his fault.

"Do whatever you need to do to her out of here." She said, her voice laced with defeat and sorrow, "You need to save the real Rose Tyler."

"Yeah I do, but the only problem is that I don't know how to get out. Whoever has trapped me here has machinery capable of creating reality at a substantially rate. I mean my mind is powerful and very very quick and no simple machinery could keep me trapped here. I'm too intelligent."

"And full of yourself." muttered Rose.

"Yeah, but you love me for it." He winked at her and grinned, adding, "You know you do."

She blushed, "Yeah I do, but your mind created me therefore these are you thoughts so basically you're in love with yourself."

He opened his mouth to reply, but shut it once more in realisation, "Oh yeah, you're right." He pulled a face, "Well, who can blame me for being in love with myself? I mean, come on, you have seen me." Rose rolled her eyes, "Oh right, where was I? Oh yeah, I'm intelligent. My mind is way too complex to be fooled by a simple machine so whoever has me locked up has technology that they probably shouldn't have, but what do they need it for? Why lock me in my own mind? What's the purpose?" He began to pace up and down the empty corridor, letting his hand trail though his messy hair, "Think…what is it? Are they processing information? Distracting me from my own brain? Or maybe they are just...No, oh wait, yes. Of course."

"What?" asked Rose, her eyes following his pacing self until he stopped dead and turned to her, his eyes wide with delight.

"Don't you see?"

"See what?"

"It's so simple. Why hadn't thought of it sooner? The reason they want me here is – Ah!" The Doctor doubled over as pain shot through him. The dull throb that had persisted there since he had awoken in the hospital had suddenly tripled in intensity causing his knees to buckle and hit harshly against the ground.

He gritted his teeth and said, "They're trying to stop me from figuring it out." He shouted to the ceiling, deciding to address whoever was listening, "Well, ha! I know why you're doing this. You can't stop me! My mind's already worked it out and this pain just proves I'm right."

He paused as the world shimmered around him. He closed his eyes as pain burned through him, clouding his mind. They were trying to make him forget and despite it all, he feared it might work. He whispered in his mind, repeating what was happening over and over again in his mind. Not quite a mantra but hopefully his mind would be able to keep just enough residual energy that it's repetition of it would keep the idea in his mind, forcing it into existence wherever or whatever he awoke to next.

It was his last thought before everything went dark.

--

Alarms blared in the room as the android repeated, "Machine Malfunction."

"Well fix it!" ordered the man.

"It is unfixable."

"Well, what can we do with the subject? What happens?" The man turned and paced, running his hands over his face with worry, "We've never had this happen before." He muttered to himself more than to the android.

"The subject will awaken."

"We can't let it awake." He shouted, "There must be something you an do!"

"There are few positive outcomes to the numerous possibilities available. I would advise letting the subject awaken."

"No!" he barked at the metal machine, "No that is not acceptable. You will not let it awaken. You get that? It is not allowed to wake up under any circumstances! You will do whatever it takes, but they cannot be allowed to wake up under any circumstances." He took a few steps forward; raising his finger threateningly and whispered harshly to the android, "Deal with this!"

With that he left the room, alarms still blaring in his ears, leaving the android open to the numerous possibilities that could deal with things.

To be continued...

**AN: Review if you enjoyed...or if you didn't.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: New chapter...hurray, sorry for delay. you know the jist if you've read some of my other stories Author's notes. This was meant to be longer but I lost the original chapter I had written and I wanted to get a new chapter of this up asap. Ok the, on with the story...**

The Doctor gasped, feeling as if someone had just poured cold water all over him. He sat up straight but quickly found himself pulled back down by the mass of wires attached to his bare chest.

"Ow!" he yelped as one of them accidentally was pulled off by the sudden movement. He rubbed at the now tender spot and closed his eyes as a headache hit him.

He safely concluded that he was definitely not felling particularly well at this particular moment. He was attached to machines, his head felt like someone had squeezed almost everything out of it slowly and he felt nauseous on top of that.

Opening his eyes, he let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Only a few small spurts of light from a nearby window seemed to get through the bars that covered it.

Where exactly was he? What had happened to him? What had happened to...

Rose!

He sat up, his head swiveling around his surroundings. He clapped eyes to her and without taking a moments notice of the series of small pains he felt as he found himself detached from the machine and rushed to her side.

"Rose..." He held the palm of his hand against Rose forehead. It felt warm, "Rose, come on. Wake up."

She didn't respond to his light shakes.

He felt her pulse and found it steady. Her breathing was regular and one of the series of machine - similar to his own - that she was attached to was giving a comforting heartbeat that was within the normal range.

He looked at her more closely. Her skin was paler than normal, her hair was greasier, suggesting she had been stuck here a few days. He was sure his own would be similar in greasiness.

She, unlike him, still wore a T-shirt and he could see the wires disappear underneath it. A thin layer of sweat rested on her forehead, despite the cold of the room and...oh! His eyes narrowed. That wasn't right.

He moved her neck to the side, noticing a red rash. He placed his fingers lightly against it and felt her groan in pain. the skin was tender, he noted. The bumps were rough and irregular in shape and if there was a rash on her then maybe...

He moved his hand up to his own neck, feeling for similar mark. Like Rose he felt a sharp pain as his fingers grazed over a certain spot, but unlike her, he did not find any small bumps.

He looked down at her neck again. Maybe it was an allergic reaction...

He needed to remember how they had gotten here...

_They were trying to make him forget and despite it all, he feared it might work. He whispered in his mind, repeating what was happening over and over again in his mind._

Of course, whoever had trapped them here had trapped him in his own imagination and they were likely to be doing the same to Rose, but how could he get her safely out of the machine's grasp without damaging her brain.

"You will stop." A voice said from behind him.

He turned, anger growing at whoever their captors were. They had no right to do this to either of them. His mouth opened, preparing to shout and demand but as he turned the only sound that came out of his mouth was a simple, "Oh..."

He looked down, raised an eyebrow and - before he could stop himself - he had burst out laughing at the robot in front of him.

"You're doing all this?" he asked, biting down on his tongue as the robot gave him a confused look, "You!" The robot remained silent and realisation struck the Doctor, "Oh...of course. Where are we? Fruelk? That is where most of you lot are produced. Unless this is after the revolution of 3065 then you lot got dismantled and most of you tried to hide, trying to find a place fo shelter and work as quickly as possible. So come on where's your master?" His voice rose as he shouted, looking into the camera in the corner that he had just noticed out the corner of his eye, "Come on then! Where is he? Hiding? If you can do this to me and my friend then you can show your face. Out you...ahhhhhhhhhh!"

The Doctor clutched at his head as he felt an electrical shock pass through him, the pain resonating solely from his head.

"You will assist." The robot said, "Without resistance or your friend's mind will be lost forever in the machine."

The Doctor's eyes, black with anger, rose dangerously to meet the robot's unfeeling glare, "What have you done to her?"

"The machine malfunctioned. You will fix it or your friend's mind will be lost."

He stepped forward until he was mere inches from him. He spoke once again, his voice low and grievous, "What have you done to Rose?"

"The machine malfunctioned."

He raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"Her mind was attached to the machine. As was yours. I only had time to remove yours before the damage was to great to remove hers."

"You woke me up..." He paused, trying to hold back the anger, "To fix your machine. And if I refuse then Rose won't be able to wake up, at least not with a sane mind still in tact. And what happens when I fix it? Do you expect me to lie back down while you probe through my brain and Rose's?"

In the same tone of voice as it always spoke, "You will comply otherwise your friend will die."

He turned to look at Rose, taking in her pale feverish face and knew that he would have to comply for now. Once she was safe out of the machine then he would put his plan of his escape into action.

He turned back and muttered, "Fine." The word tasted like acid in his mouth, "Get me my shirt. And give me all the information you have on this machine."

Without another word, he went to work.

To be continued...

**AN: Longer chapters will presume next chapter and you'll find out what's happening to Rose...hopefully. Review fi you enjoyed...**


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